(1) Field of the Invention
The invention is related to an external load mass rope for attachment to a cargo hook device of a rotorcraft that comprises at least one first cargo hook and at least one second cargo hook, said external load mass rope comprising the features of claim 1.
(2) Description of Related Art
Rotorcrafts, and in particular helicopters, are commonly used to fulfil aerial transportation and delivery tasks. By way of example, helicopters are used to transport and deliver loads to mountain regions in general and, more specifically, to mountain regions where no roads exist or where roads cannot be used for transportation and delivery, e.g. due to extreme weather conditions in winter and so on. Furthermore, helicopters are used in transportation and delivery of loads for military purposes or in the construction sector, where the loads may represent any kind of material. Moreover, helicopters can be used in firefighting for transportation of firefighting buckets. In addition, helicopters are also very useful in wood logging for transporting harvested wood. In all of these cases, the helicopters can be required to transport comparatively heavy external loads which can, depending on an underlying type of helicopter, weigh up to several tons.
In order to enable a given helicopter for transportation of an external load, it can be equipped with a cargo hook device to which an external load mass rope for connection to the external load can be attached. Thus, a given external load can be suspended from the helicopter by means of the external load mass rope, which is particularly useful for bulky loads which do not fit into the cabin of the helicopter.
However, such an external load mass rope and also the cargo hook device must be designed and constructed specifically for carrying also comparatively heavy external loads with a high degree of safety, while being as small as possible for helicopter integration reasons. Furthermore, such designing and constructing also requires the compliance with applicable safety regulations and specifications, such as the US-American Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) and/or the European Certification Specifications (CS).
According to the FAR and CS, a non-human external load or non-human external cargo (NHEC) is commonly transported by using a cargo hook device in single cargo hook arrangement, i.e. with a single cargo hook. In contrast, a human external load or human external cargo (HEC) is commonly transported by using a cargo hook device in double cargo hook arrangement, i.e. with two separate cargo hooks. In such cargo hook devices, the cargo hooks are usually designed to have identical rated loads independent on whether they are used in single cargo hook arrangement or in double cargo hook arrangement. However, particularly for NHEC transportation the rated load of each cargo hook is the limiting factor that defines the maximum external load mass that can be suspended from a given helicopter.
More specifically, in the double cargo hook arrangement two cargo hooks are provided in order to fulfil e.g. the safety requirements for HEC transportation according to FAR 29.865. However, the second cargo hook usually only acts as back-up cargo hook as described below. Although the double cargo hook arrangement is mandatory for transportation of HEC and not required for transportation of NHEC, it can nevertheless be used to transport NHEC even if it is not required to fulfil the FAR requirements for NHEC transportation. In this case, the second cargo hook is generally simply not used during NHEC transportation, but nevertheless installed on the underlying cargo hook device with all on-going penalties.
As already mentioned above, the cargo hooks of the different cargo hook devices usually connect a given helicopter via suitable external load mass ropes to any HEC or NHEC that is to be transported. For a cargo hook device in single cargo hook arrangement having a single cargo hook a single rope is used, while generally a so-called Y-rope is used for a cargo hook device in double cargo hook arrangement having two cargo hooks.
The document US 2012/0145832 A1 describes a load lifting apparatus for a helicopter with a single rope that is embodied by a cable, including a supply length in a cable store. The cable store is embodied by a winch that is attached to the helicopter by means of an associated extension arm. The cable is secured at one end to the helicopter, i.e. the winch, and has a free end. A load-bearing element, on which a load to be raised can be secured, is arranged on the cable. The cable can be removed from the cable store in order to lower the load-bearing element downwards from the helicopter. As the load-bearing element is lowered or pulled upwards, the cable acts at a force-introduction location on the helicopter. The load-bearing element is arranged on the cable such that it can move along the cable. At least one cable-attachment location is present on the helicopter, and is spaced apart from the force-introduction location and has, or can have, the free end of the cable secured on it.
However, this load lifting apparatus requires use of the winch and the extension arm which unnecessarily augment the overall weight of the helicopter, thereby negatively impacting its performances. Furthermore, the cable that implements the single rope is not suitable for use with a cargo hook device in double cargo hook arrangement having two cargo hooks, which are generally used in combination with suitable Y-ropes, as described above. Such a Y-rope usually comprises a specific load transfer leg and a back-up leg that is longer than the load transfer leg, wherein both legs are separately attached to one of the two cargo hooks, respectively.
However, in operation of the helicopter the complete mass of the external load will always be transferred to the helicopter via the load transfer leg independent of a respective deflection angle of the external load relative to the helicopter in forward or backward flight of the latter. Thus, the cargo hook to which the back-up leg is attached merely serves as a back-up hook.
Alternatively, such a Y-rope may comprise two legs with identical lengths, wherein the complete mass of the external load is transferred to the helicopter via both legs during hover and in lifting of the helicopter. However, in forward or backward flight of the helicopter the complete mass of the external load is transferred to the helicopter via only one of the two legs, so that the cargo hook to which the other one of the two legs is attached again merely serves as a back-up hook.
In other words, with a cargo hook device in double cargo hook arrangement having two cargo hooks in combination with anyone of such commonly used Y-ropes, the complete mass of the external load is always almost exclusively transferred to the helicopter in operation via a single cargo hook, independent on whether HEC or NHEC is transported. Thus, although a second cargo hook with a given self-weight is provided, it is almost unused for transportation or load supporting purposes, so that its self-weight merely represents additional weight that must also be transported by the helicopter and, therefore, negatively impacts respective helicopter performances.
Furthermore, as the rated load of the cargo hook to which the external load mass is transferred is the limiting factor that defines the maximum external load mass that can be suspended from a given helicopter in NHEC transportation, this maximum external load is limited to the lowest rated load of the two cargo hooks. Thus, if greater external load masses should be transported in NHEC transportation, the two cargo hooks must be designed stronger in order to resist against such greater external load masses. However, while getting stronger the cargo hooks usually also get heavier with a greater self-weight that again negatively impacts the respective helicopter performances.
Another possibility for enlarging transportable external load masses in NHEC transportation with a helicopter having a cargo hook device in double cargo hook arrangement with two cargo hooks would be to divide the external load mass in all flight modes and conditions such that it is distributed to both cargo hooks. Thus, both cargo hooks contribute in carrying the external load mass which could, consequently, be greater than in cases where only one of the cargo hooks carries the complete external load mass.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,336 A describes a helicopter with means for suspending a cargo from the helicopter at associated hard points, where each hard point contributes in all flight modes and conditions in carrying the external load mass defined by the cargo. These means comprise two single ropes which are embodied by cables that are supported by four pulley units, each pulley unit being attached via an associated bracket to a corresponding hard point provided at a lower side of the fuselage of the helicopter. Each cable connects two diagonally opposite pulley units, so that the two cables cross each other in a central section thereof.
However, these means for suspending a cargo from the helicopter use four pulley units which unnecessarily augment the overall weight of the helicopter, thereby negatively impacting its performances. Furthermore, the crossing of the two cables in their central sections may lead to undesired friction and, consequently, undesired abrasion that could shorten the lifetime of the cables and negatively impact their functionality.